8 cats killed in blaze that damages rescue center

City of Beacon firefighters were called to the fire at 11:03 a.m. Saturday, as occupants were evacuating the building on Simmons Lane, owned by Mid Hudson Animal Aid Inc.

Firefighters knocked down the fire, which was concentrated in the isolation room. Fire damage was confined to that room, but smoke damaged much of the building. The estimated damage is $16,000, the department said in a statement.

"After the fire was knocked down, all efforts were concentrated on removing over 160 cats," the department said.

Eight cats died due to smoke inhalation, the department said.

The Fishkill and Rombout fire departments assisted. The cause of the fire was electrical, the department said.

Journal seeks scary stories for annual writing contest

The Poughkeepsie Journal's 18th annual Scary Stories writing contest is underway. Original tales no more than 300 words are wanted with a theme of Halloween. Deadline for entries is 5 p.m. Sept. 27. Visit www.poughkeepsiejournal.com and click on the Scary Stories Contest icon for complete rules. To see last year's winners, visit www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/scarystories.

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Mid-Hudson briefs

A City of Poughkeepsie man, who was arrested at the scene of a Friday afternoon shooting, is due to appear in court today on a weapons charge.